Ratchanok advances to Thailand Open semi-final
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Ratchanok advances to Thailand Open semi-final

Doubles stars Sapsiree and Dechapol also win and will face Chinese Olympic champs

Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon, shown above in action against Wang Zhiyi on Thursday, will face top seed Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in Saturday’s women’s singles semi-final at the Thailand Open.
Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon, shown above in action against Wang Zhiyi on Thursday, will face top seed Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in Saturday’s women’s singles semi-final at the Thailand Open.

Home favourites Ratchanok Intanon and the mixed doubles duo Sapsiree Taerattanachai and Dechapol Puavaranukroh recorded straight-sets victories on Friday to book a place in the semi-finals of the Thailand Open badminton tournament.

World No.8 Ratchanok defeated Line Christophersen of Denmark 21-8, 21-8 in the women’s singles quarter-final at Impact Arena Muang Thong Thani in Nonthaburi.

She will face a tough semi-final opponent on Saturday in top seed Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan, who defeated Chinese eighth seed He Bingjiao 21-10, 14-21, 21-18 in a seesaw  match.

Dechapol and Sapsiree had few problems in their 21-15, 21-8 quarter-final doubles victory over Kyohei Yamashita and Naru Shinoya of Japan.

They will meet Olympic champions Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongpiang on Saturday to contest for a place in Sunday’s final.

In the other mixed doubles quarter-final, the Chinese finished off Thailand’s Supak Jomkoh and Supissara Paewsampran 21-16, 21-15. 

“My overall performance has boosted my confidence,” Ratchanok said after her match. “Tai is strong and good so I have to play with patience.”

The Taiwanese leads the Thai 16-14 in their head-to-head meetings.

“We will face a very strong pair in the semi-finals so we have to be well-prepared,” Dechapol said of the doubles showdown.

In Saturday’s other women’s singles semi-final, PV Sindhu of India will be up against Olympic champion Chen Yufei from China.

Sixth seed Sindhu stunned world No.1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-15, 20-22, 21-13 on Friday, while Chen also needed three games to beat Canada’s Michelle Li 21-14, 2-22, 21-17.

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